Has grown in my garden every year since we moved in 9 years ago, and I have never planted it. The previous owners were not gardeners, so it must have blown in or had its seeds deposited by birds. It is a welcome visitor each spring. Not invasive like violets, and very early bloomer. Plant disappears as weather heats up, but reseeds reliably.
This little plant grows wild in yards in western Kentucky. A lot of people consider them invasive. I like them because they are a sure sign of spring. I also like them because they often will grow as ground cover where nothing else grows.
I find this mildly aggressive spreading plant a welcome addition to the few beds it has decided to make a home in so far, mainly because it is a host plant for Fritillary butterflies. Its pretty purple early blooms and cute heart-shaped leaves are an added bonus to my often otherwise drab and fairly barren early spring beds.
Pansies are derived from the viola species Viola tricolor, hybridized with other viola species. These hybrids are referred to as Viola × wittrockiana, or less commonly Viola tricolor hortensis.
This delicate plant and flower are edible. The favored habitat is moist woods, swamps, and damp fields. It is attractive to wildlife, such as song birds and small mammals.
Birdsfoot Violet is a little gem for the rock garden or other prominent spot with excellent drainage and full sun or light shade. It can be grown successfully in sand or pea gravel with a little compost. The flowers are 1 to 2 inches wide and shaped like fully opened violet flowers. The two upper petals are violet or lavender and the three lower ones are slightly paler. From March to May, a happy plant may display two dozen or more open flowers at once when the entire plant is no more than 6 to 8 inches around and tall! The leaves (evergreen here in TN) are dissected or finely cut resembling bird's feet with many toes.
This little viola is native to Australia. The flowers are usually pale in coloration. It is easy to grow but is seldom grown in gardens in favor of the showier violas.
Viola plants such as this one prefer cool to warm climates. They wilt some in high heat. In warmer areas, plant them in partial shade.
This white blooming violet is taller than most other violets and blooms later and longer than most. It is native from southern Wisconsin & southern Michigan through southern Ontario through New York into southern New England down to northern Georgia to eastern Oklahoma and up eastern Kansas & Nebraska. It has long flower stalks, the stems are green and smooth, not with purplish color. It bears large cut stipules at the bottom of the leaves. It spreads by self-sowing and not by underground stems (rhizomes) to form a nice groundcover that can be aggressive. It is sold by some native plant nurseries as New Moon Nursery in Woodtown, NJ and by Prairie Moon Nursery in Winona, MN.
This is a very old and popular Viola. 'King Henry' blooms fall through spring in warm climates. It will overwinter in climates as cold as zone 4. The flowers are edible.
